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BohémaBohéma
Opera

La bohème

Giacomo Puccini

A celebration of youth, love and joie de vivre through the eyes of Parisian bohemians.

The State Opera
English surtitles

Choose date

  • October
  • November
    October 2023

    Friday 13. 10.
    19:00

    Tickets available

    English surtitles

    Friday 27. 10.
    19:00

    Tickets available

    English surtitles
    November 2023

    Sunday 5. 11.
    17:00

    Subscription sale

    English surtitles

    Basic information

    Venue

    The State Opera

    Approximate running time

    2 hours 15 minutes, 1 intermission (20 minutes) minutes

    Language

    In Italian, surtitles in Czech, English

    Premiere

    October 23, 2008

    Four young Montmartre artists live through love affairs and breakups. Rain-or-shine friends, perennially skint yet happy, live life to the full. Until, that is, death arrives, death all the more tragic in that it takes the girlfriend of one of them. Yet the four Parisian artists’ bonds are eternal. That is how Giacomo Puccini sees it in his renowned opera La bohème, as does Ondřej Havelka, the director of the State Opera production.

    Cast

    • 2022-2023
    • 2023-2024

    Creatives

    Stage director
    Ondřej Havelka
    Choreography
    Jana Hanušová
    Chorus master
    Adolf Melichar
    Chorus master of the Kühn's Children's Choir
    Jiří Chvála

    About

    State Opera Chorus
    State Opera Orchestra
    Prague Philharmonic Children´s Choir 

    Puccini’s La bohème is one of the most frequently staged operas worldwide. The composer was inspired by the Paris-based painter and writer Henry Murger’s book Scènes de la vie de bohème, which since its publication in 1851 had enjoyed great popularity, and he immediately sensed the enormous dramatic potential in the work. Giacomo Puccini entrusted the text to the librettists and playwrights Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, whom he held in great esteem; their collaboration ranks among the most successful in the history of opera – up there with that between W. A. Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte, or Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The first opera Puccini, Giacosa and Illica worked on together was La bohème, followed by Tosca and Madama Butterfly. It ended with Giacosa’s death in 1906.

    La bohème premiered on 1 February 1896 at the Teatro Regio in Turin, conducted by Arturo Toscanini. The opera’s seeming levity, in stark contrast to the then predominant Wagnerism, confused the audience and the critics alike, with the result being a lukewarm response to the first night. Two months later, however, its performance in Palermo was a triumph, and the piece has been a blockbuster ever since. In La bohème – just as later on in Madama Butterfly and Turandot – Puccini brought to bear his mastery in musical rendering of the local colour. The State Opera production, featuring sets by Martin Černý and costumes by Jana Zbořilová, is directed by Ondřej Havelka. Amidst an evocative picture of Paris at the end of the 19th century he unfolds the story of four young artists for whom friendship is more than a mere word. 

    Suitable for audience from 12 years.

    Photo and video gallery

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      La bohème Programme

      A booklet for the production of La bohème

      70 Kč

      5 items in stock

      Practical information

      Where to buy tickets

      The National Theatre sells tickets up to 6 months in advance. On 1 May at 9am we started selling tickets for performances of Drama, Ballet, Opera and Laterna magika until the end of October 2023.


      When purchasing online, you can get an e-ticket. You can pick up printed tickets in person at the box offices of the National Theatre.

      What to wear?

      By their appearance, attire and behaviour, the audience is obliged to adhere to the accustomed practice expected from them when attending a theatre performance.

      Parking at the State opera

      While visiting the State Opera, you can take the slip road on Wilsonova street from the left lane close to the State Opera building to the Parking Centrum above-ground garage. The parking fee is 40 CZK/h.

      Buffets at the State Opera

      No waiting. For your benefit, please pre-order your food and beverages at the bar to minimize waiting in the queue!

      Menu (PDF, 70 kB)